Mailboxes used in suburban and rural areas typically are mounted on fixed posts located adjacent to the roadway in position to receive mail deposited by a mail carrier. As such, they are vulnerable to damage from being struck by passing vehicles on the roadway, as well as by equipment such as the lawn mowers, snow moving machines, and other commonly used lawn and garden implements. The proximity of these mailboxes to the roadway also makes them easy targets for vandalism and theft of their contents.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a roadside mailbox which retracts into a stowed secure position between periods of use in order to overcome the above-mentioned problems. It is a further object of this invention to cause the mailbox and its supporting structure to be pivotally movable by remotely operated electrical means from the stowed secure position to an erected operational position at such times as the mailbox needs to be accessible to receive mail deposited by a mail carrier or to be retrieved by the user. A still further object of the invention is to accomplish the above movement by a mechanism that is simple in concept and operation, is relatively maintenance free, and is not prone to being affected by weather conditions. Another further object of this invention is to provide a mailbox that is laterally movable when in the erected position in the direction of the roadway, in order to make it more easily accessible by one who is depositing or retrieving mail from a vehicle.